A REJOINDER TO DR. COSTELLO.

The article is a comment by the author on the discussion related to education and fertility in Philippine, by Michael A. Costello. The author feels that, Dr. Costello has lost sight of the fact that although the relation between education and fertility is not always inverse, the former (education) does not affect fertility directly but acts through many variables that in turn deter- mine fertility. Education has multiple, partially offsetting, effects on the biological supply of births or fecundity. Increased fecundity can be offset by in- creased contraceptive use but the latter is expected to lag behind the former. Education cannot be expected to automatically reduce fertility in all circumstances. Author feels, to design the best educational strategy, it is necessary to know what kind of education should be increased, not merely to say that education should be increased since the immediate consequence is an increased fertility under certain circumstances. Education is more likely to reduce fertility in urban than in rural areas.